Texas Drought Causes Urban Forest Die-off

2011 Texas drought kills 5.6 million urban shade trees: TFS

The historic drought has killed an estimated 5.6 million shade trees, dubbed ‘urban forest,’ throughout the cities, towns and communities across the state of Texas since last year, Texas Forest Service (TFS) reported.

Disaster Calendar 2012 – February 16

[February 16, 2012]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,490 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Texas, USA.  Last year’s unrelenting drought killed an estimated 5.6 million shade trees, dubbed urban forest,’ throughout the communities across the state, Texas Forest Service(TFS) reported.
  • “This estimate is preliminary because trees are continuing to die from the drought,” said Pete Smith, Texas Forest Service staff forester and lead researcher. “This means we may be significantly undercounting the number of trees that ultimately will succumb to the drought. That number may not be known until the end of 2012, if ever.”
  • “All cities and towns in Texas were included in the study with the exception of the Trans Pecos region, where tree mortality was determined to be a result of a February 2011 cold snap; not the drought,” said the report.
  • The loss of economic and environmental benefits provided by the trees is estimated at about $280 million per year, TFS said.
  • To prevent safety hazards posed by falling dead trees, the authorities will have to remove them. The estimated cost of  removing the dead trees is $560 million.

Texas Drought Map (Feb. 2012). Source: US Drought Monitor

Other Global Disasters

• Madagascar.   Death toll from Cyclone Giovanna, which struck Madagascar on February 14, 2012, has risen to at least 16, officials have reported.
  • Many people were reported missing and about 100 injured.
  • The deadly Cat 4B cyclone slammed the Indian Ocean island with sustained winds of  231km (143 miles) per hour and wind gusts exceeding 275kph.
  • The storm has destroyed about 4,000 structures, mostly homes, and dozens of schools, leaving up to 15,000 people homeless.
  • Much of the infrastructure in several cities have also been destroyed, with vast areas submerged under up to 3 feet of water.

• Honduras.  Death toll has risen to 360 following a massive prison fire that destroyed large parts of the Comayagua complex located about 100km (60 miles) north of the in Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

• Disaster declaration renewed in Texas
• Drought 2012
• Texas drought kills 500 million trees

• US 2011 Mega Disasters Costs Exceed $52 Billion*
• Billion-dollar disasters of 2011 [Updated]

Texas drought kills 500 million trees

Up to 500 million trees across Texas have died due to 2011 drought: Report

The new estimates by Texas Forest Service does NOT include trees killed in wildfires that have consumed about 4 million acres of the Lone Star state since the 2011 fires began.

Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 21

[December 21, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,547 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Texas, USA. As many as 500 million trees “with a diameter of 5 inches or larger” across the state of Texas have died as a result of unrelenting drought and record-setting temperatures that plagued the Lone Star state, Texas Forest Service reported.
• The 12-month period between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011 was the driest in Texas history, said the State Climatologist.
• Also, the months of June, July and August in Texas were the hottest three-month period ever recorded anywhere in America.
• “In 2011, Texas experienced an exceptional drought, prolonged high winds and record-setting temperatures. Together, those conditions took a severe toll on trees across the state,” said Burl Carraway, Sustainable Forestry department head. “Large numbers of trees in both urban communities and rural forests have died or are struggling to survive. The impacts are numerous and widespread.”
• The estimate represents about 10 percent of all the trees in the state, Carraway added.
• “The preliminary estimates indicate three multi-county areas appear to be the hardest hit. The area including Sutton, Crockett, western Kimble and eastern Pecos counties saw extensive mortality among Ashe junipers.” TFS said.
• “The area including Harris, Montgomery, Grimes, Madison and Leon counties saw extensive mortality among loblolly pines. Western Bastrop and eastern Caldwell counties, as well as surrounding areas, saw extensive mortality among cedars and post oaks.”
• Trees need about 30 years to mature.

YTD Texas wildfire stats by TFS as of October 7, 2011. [The acreage  burnt includes about 3.1 million acres of pasture land.]

• Texas. The state’s worst ever drought has also led to the largest-ever one-year decline in its cow herd, reports said.
• The number of cows in Texas has declined by at least 600,000, a 12 percent drop from the 5 million cows in the state at the beginning of the year, said David Anderson of  the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
• Large number of cows were moved out of the state “somewhere there’s grass,” but many were slaughtered. For example, about 200,000 more cattle were slaughtered in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana and Arkansas,  this year, a 20 percent increase over last year, he said.

Other Disasters

• The Carolinas, USA. A total of 19 counties in the Carolinas have been declared as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by drought and excessive heat that began June 1, 2011, and continues, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported.
• South Carolina disaster designations cover 6 primary areas including Cherokee, Greenville, Laurens, Pickens, Spartanburg and Union counties, and 8 contiguous areas: Abbeville, Anderson, Chester, Fairfield, Greenwood, Newberry, Oconee and York counties
• Five North Carolina counties also included in the declaration because they’re contiguous disaster areas: Cleveland, Henderson, Polk, Rutherford and Transylvania.
• Hong Kong. The government is culling 17,000 chickens after three birds died from the H5N1 bird flu strain last week.
• Two wild birds including an Oriental magpie and a black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) were found dead  with the virus.
• An outbreak of the deadly respiratory disease SARS killed 300 people in the territory and 500 more worldwide in 2003.
• Meantime, a government advisory board in the US has asked scientific journals not to publish details of “certain biomedical experiments, for fear that the information could be used by terrorists to create deadly viruses and touch off epidemics,” a report said.
• USA. About 41% of young adults and adolescents in the U.S. have been arrested at least once before age 23, not including minor traffic violations. Up to 27% reported being arrested before age 18, according to a study published by the Journal of Pediatrics.

• USA.  Blizzard conditions across five states have killed at least a dozen people since Monday including
• Four people traveling in east-central New Mexico were killed in a head-on collision
• A driver in New Mexico was killed after his SUV overturned
• A prisoner and a corrections officer in Colorado were killed after their vehicle went out of control.
• Five people were killed when their plane crashed in Central Texas on Monday. “Weather may have been a contributing factor,” Texas Department of Public Safety said. “There was some rain in this area and some lightning.”
• A tornado spawned by thunderstorms damaged a hospital in DeQuincy, Louisiana, National Weather Service reported.
• Emergency services across the Great Plains have received hundreds of rescue calls since Monday, when the blizzard shut down highways.
• The storm has brought snow from Oklahoma into Kansas, and forced Los Alamos National Laboratory to shut down.

Continuing southern Plains blizzard snarls pre-holiday travel with heavy snow, high winds

Storm forces massive school closures impacts numerous highways in four states

Kansas City, Mo. – Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 – The winter storm that began developing Monday in New Mexico made its presence known by wreaking havoc on pre-holiday travel. Blizzard conditions closed numerous roads, schools and businesses today; stranded motorists and kept transportation and emergency management agencies busy trying to keep roads clear. National Guard troops were assigned to rescue people from stranded vehicles in several locations.

Blizzard Warnings remained in effect until around noon today in central, southwestern and west-central Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle and the northern and western Texas Panhandle.

A Winter Storm Warning was in effect for the same period in central and North-central Kansas. Winter Weather Advisories were in effect for southeastern Colorado; northern, central and south-central Kansas; northeast Missouri, northwest Oklahoma and the southern Texas Panhandle.

As of early this morning, the heaviest snowfall reported from the storm was 15 inches that fell on Springfield and La Junta in southeast Colorado. High winds have created drifts up to 10 feet deep in that area. Other overnight snow reports from Colorado included 12 inches at Beulah in Pueblo County, 10 inches at Las Animas and 8-12 inches in Huerfano County.

Winds around 25-35 mph with gusts to 50 mph are also producing considerable blowing snow and white out conditions throughout the blizzard area. Observers have reported 3-5-foot drifts across roads in much of southwest Kansas with-5-9 inches of snow on the ground overnight. Drifts are reaching 8 feet deep in parts of Hamilton County, Kan. The heaviest snow observed in Kansas so far was 12 inches at Scott City. – Source: NWS-CRH

Global Disaster Links

• Worsening Texas Drought May Stay Many Years

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities  (EDRO Forecast)
• 2011 Much More Disastrous: FIRE-EARTH Forecast
• Global Disasters in 2011 Could Impact 1/3 to 1/2 of the Human Population  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs  (FIRE-EARTH Forecast)

• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar

Texas wildfires consume nearly 2m acres

RED FLAG WARNINGS ISSUED for PARTS of 8 STATES

Texas wildfires scorch about 2 million acre, 905 structures

NWS has issued Red Flag Warnings for parts of California, Arizona,  New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida.

IF IT ISN’T FLOODED, IT MUST BE BURNING!

Click image to enter NWS portal.

TEXAS FOREST SERVICE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SITUATION REPORT
Thursday, April 28, 2011
National Preparedness Level: 1
Southern Area Preparedness Level: 4
TFS Preparedness Level: 5

In the past seven days, TFS has responded to 103 fires for 91,542 acres.

YTD Totals

• Fires: 6,329
• Acres burned: 1,930,118
• Structures lost: 905 [Texas fires destroy 1370 homes]

Largest Fires

ROCKHOUSE, Presidio and Jeff Davis Counties. 292,739 acres, 66 percent contained.
DEATON COLE, Val Verde County. 40,000 acres, 50 percent contained.
SCOTT RANCH, Irion County. 10,000 acres, 40 percent contained.
PLEASANT FARMS, Ector County (and C-BAR, Crane County). 12,800 acres, 75 percent contained.
OASIS, Kimble County. 6,400 acres, 10 percent contained.

Latest: CR 266, Duval County. 1,500 acres, 89 percent contained.

BOYS RANCH, Potter and Oldham counties. 500 acres, 85 percent contained.
CHAMPION, Mitchell County. 1,000 acres, no containment.
HAPPY, Castro County. 3,000 acres, 75 percent contained.
FULLER, Scurry County. 5,200 acres, 70 percent contained.
SPADE RANCH, Terry County. 4,000 acres, 90 percent contained.
MATHIS, Cottle County. 300 acres, 90 percent contained.
T-BAR RANCH, Lynn County. 1500 acres, 90 percent contained.
PK COMPLEX, Stephens and Palo Pinto Counties. 126,734 acres, 94 percent contained.
WILDCAT, Coke County. 159,308 acres, 90 percent contained.

Fatalities

• Two firefighters have lost their lives, including one near Lubbock who was killed yesterday.
• Two sightseers were killed as their plane  circled over fires Tuesday.

Cattle and Horses

NO official figures have been released so far. However,  FIRE-EARTH estimates that up to 50,000 heads of cattle and horses may have been killed or seriously injured as a result of the deadly fires since beginning of the year.

“Between 400,000 and 500,000 cattle have been injured by the fire but survived,” a report said.

Dry Conditions Decimating Texas Crops

Texas farmers produce about 100 million bushels of wheat on average each year, but they would be lucky to produce  a third of that amount this year, says Texas AgriLife Extension Service .

“This year’s crop condition ratings show about 40 percent of the Texas crop in very poor condition, which compares with 65 percent very poor in March of 2006 and 53 percent very poor in May of 2009,” said Dr. Mark Welch, AgriLife Extension economist specializing in grain marketing and policy.

Related Links

•  Texas wildfire conditions may worsen
• Texas Wildfires Scorch 1.8 Million Acres
• TEXAS FIRES – April 21 Update

• Texas Fires: More Towns Evacuated
• TEXAS ON FIRE
• Wildfires Devastating Texas; Gov. Perry Tours
• Local officials in a parched Texas county have resorted to asking their constituents to pray for rain
• Drought sears farmers’ hopes: They had wanted to take advantage of record prices for commodities
• U.S. Agrees to Help Fight Mexico Wildfires

• Global Disaster Forecast – UPDATE 17 Mar
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• Extreme fire danger, continued major flooding in the US

• US Wildfire Pattern Consistent with Drought
• National Fire Stats Falsified?
• Denver wildfire forces evacuation of 10,000 homes
• Wildfires Wreaking Havoc Across the U.S.
• World on Fire
• U-S Attacked by Continued Severe Weather